Hot spots revealed for peak bird swooping season

Brisbane’s swooping birds have switched their focus this year with different suburbs becoming hot spots for Council callouts.

With spring here and peak beak awareness season over September and October, Brisbane City Council has shared stats on how many times they have been contacted to counter a feathered threat.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said since July 1, Council had been contacted 87 times about swooping birds in the suburbs.

Lord Mayor Schrinner said last year more than half of all swooping incidents were reported across September and October.

“We take swooping bird season seriously and work with wildlife experts to keep our feathered friends and the community safe,” he said.

“With the peak of swooping season here, it’s a timely reminder to be alert that we share our city with wildlife.”

Over 2024/25, when 41 birds were relocated by wildlife experts, New Farm was the top suburb for swooping bird reports, with 21, followed closely Brighton (18) and Forest Lake (5).

So far, this financial year Forest Lake leads the pack with seven reports, but Wakerley (6) and Carindale (4) have joined the list.

Council suggests residents take the following precautions to avoid swooping birds:

Avoid the swoop area during breeding season.
Travel in a group. Most birds only swoop individuals.
Don’t panic or run when swooped, as this only encourages a swooping bird to continuing its attack.
Wear a hat or use an umbrella over your head to keep a swooping bird at a safe distance.
Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.
Cyclists should dismount and walk away from the swooping zone.
Do not deliberately provoking birds as this may make them more aggressive.
Do not destroy nests as the birds may re-nest and extend the breeding season.
Do not feed or try to befriend swooping birds

Top suburbs for swooping reports

2025/26 (to date):